Tony's Problem
by Ensign Anna
Summary: Tony is depressed and in a bad mood, so it's up to Steve to break through Tony's shell and solve Tony's problem. (Basically, Tony feels and Steve being an awesome boyfriend.) Stony established relationship. I suck at summaries and titles, but please read! Rated T because of slash.


**A/N: This story takes place after the first Avengers movie, but before the second one. If you've watched Age of Ultron, you'll probably notice that the 'dream' Tony has in this fic of mine is a lot like the dream/vision he had in Age of Ultron. I'm pretending that Tony had had the dream multiple times before Ultron, so yeah. Thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated, but please go easy on me. This is one of my first fics. ;)**

 **Okay, I'll stop talking now. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own anything Marvel.**

 **҉**

 _He searched through the rubble, trying to find them. He could see mounds of bodies, but none were ones that he recognized. Then, coming around a corner, he saw them. He could see Thor, dead, with his hammer dented and useless and lying beside him. He saw Hulk, whose body was unmoving. In the distance, he could see Hawkeye, shot with at least a dozen bullets, with his bow snapped in half beside him, and Black Widow, with energy wounds all over her body, staring at the sky with sightless eyes._

 _He felt a tug on his leg and looked down to see Captain America, Steve, lying there on the ground, with blood covering his entire body. He knelt down, desperately feeling for Steve's pulse. The captain was barely alive, but he knew that he couldn't save the soldier. He held on to the Captain's hand, but he knew it was hopeless. "You could have saved us, you could have saved_ me _." The Captain said hoarsely. "You could have done more. We're all dead, because of you! Because you didn't try!"_

" _No!" Tony muttered. He looked around desperately for a doctor. "No! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!" He looked up in horror as all the bodies began to get up, like zombies. They all started to walk toward him, speaking hateful words at Tony. He tried to back away, but he couldn't move. His feet were glued to the ground. They were coming closer and closer and he was trying to scream when-_

 **҉**

Tony had gone down to his workplace in the morning. He had skipped breakfast, but nobody was worried. He usually had something down in his workshop while he worked in the morning. But then the inventor didn't come up at all that day. Or the next, or for the next week. He had been working for a week in his lab, and hadn't left it at all.

Thor, Bruce, Natasha, and Clint were getting worried.

Pepper was off on her well-earned vacation, which ruled her out to get the genius. That meant that one of the Avengers needed to get him. Every time they tried to go down to get him, though, trouble followed.

When Thor tried to come down, he, being his big booming self, had almost broken something. After all, Thor almost never went down there since he had never really cared about, as he put it, "the Man of Iron's Midgardian magic." The problem was that after Tony had kicked the poor god out, Tony had told JARVIS to put the security code to the workshop back on. That made things harder, because if you tried to mess with the security and didn't have the passcode, you were soon to become a black smudge on the floor.

Bruce had tried next, knowing the code, but had almost started to Hulk out when Tony had started to throw things at him and shout at Bruce to go away.

Next were Natasha and Clint, who both got busted by JARVIS. They had barely made it out before Tony had started firing at them with his repulsor from his Iron Man suit.

All this confirmed what they had originally thought.

Tony had a problem, and he was going to have it for a long time unless someone helped him.

This posed a problem for the remaining Avengers, because they knew that Tony needed to get out of his mood. He was one of the leaders of their team, and they all needed him.

There was only one person who could convince Tony to do anything besides Pepper, and he was currently on a mission.

And so, there was a tense wait. Everyone waited as patiently as they could, pacing in the Common Rooms. It was a rough week for all of them.

 **҉**

When Steve finally arrived back from his mission, he was surprised at how relieved everyone was when he came up on the elevator.

SHIELD had called a few weeks ago, saying that they had discovered a new HYDRA base. They only needed one Avenger, so Steve had volunteered to go. After all, the reason why Steve was here in the 20th century was because he had crashed a HYDRA plane to stop it from destroying the world. He had a few words of "thanks" he wanted to say to them.

The captain, fresh out of battle, had almost thrown his shield at Natasha because she had startled him when he had come out of the elevator.

"Whoa, soldier!" Natasha quickly said, holding up her hands. "Don't throw that thing at me."

"Sorry, Natasha," he apologized, giving her a sheepish look. They made their way into the Common Room, where the rest of the Avengers were.

"Welcome, son of Rodgers!" Thor boomed, as loud as always. He slapped Steve on the back with his usual strength, making Steve wince slightly because of his wounds. Steve opened his mouth to correct Thor about his name, but then shut it. He didn't want to ruin the mood.

He and Clint nodded at each other, and Bruce gave him a small and slightly worried smile. Steve smiled back as he looked around, but he didn't see the face he had wanted to see the most.

"Where's Tony?" Steve asked, confused. Now that he thought of it, Tony hadn't given him his customary 'welcome back' kiss. The inventor was nowhere to be seen.

Clint looked tired. "He's still in his workshop, like he has been since you left. He hasn't left at all. We were all kinda hoping that he would come up when you got back, but-" Clint sighed "-no luck."

The captain nearly retched. "A week? What could he be doing down there that's taken an entire week?"

Natasha sighed. "The day after you left, he went down there and never came back. All of us tried to go down and talk to him, but-" she shrugged "-Tony kicked us out each time." She brightened visibly. "But now that you're here…"

Steve sighed. "You want me to convince him to eat or get some sleep."

Clint shrugged. "Or figure out what his problem is. 'Cause he has a problem alright."

Everyone else nodded. Steve sighed again.

"Please, Steve?" Bruce asked. "We're all really worried about Tony. I know you're tired, but you're the only one he won't try to throw across the room."

Thor looked at Steve, noticing the puppy eyes the god was showing him. "Please, Son of Rodgers?" He boomed in a pleading voice. Steve couldn't say no to that face.

Steve nodded in a resigned face, but he was secretly happy. He loved any chance to cajole Tony. "Fine, but I need you guys to give me two things. The passcode to his workplace, and," Steve paused, looking at all of them, "your silence."

He told them his plan.

 **҉**

Tony sighed as he set down the prototype Iron Man suit hand, watching the computer screen as JARVIS did the diagnostic. When he had almost blasted Clint and Natasha, he had nearly blasted the wall as well because of some kind of malfunction, which wasn't good if that had been in battle. He had spent the last few hours correcting it, and was running scans to make sure it was ready.

It wasn't like he had anything else to do.

He knew that he had worked for down in his workshop hours, even days without stopping. He was basically living on his coffee down here. He knew he was being stupid, but he couldn't shake the images of his dream. The looks on his friend's faces. The look on Steve's face. His words. Them all getting up and crawling towards him and that he was trying to escape but he couldn't move and-

" _Sir, the diagnostic on the prototype is complete. It is ready for testing."_

JARVIS startled Tony out of his reverie. Tony shook his head and cleared his throat, slipping the Iron Man hand back on. "Alright then, Jarvis. Let's try on one percent power." He aimed his hand at a nearby target he had set up.

The hand glowed for a second before letting off a large pulse that fried the target and nearly the computer behind it.

"That was pretty good." Tony spun around, his Iron Man hand facing whoever had spoke. Tony blushed slightly as he lowered his hand.

It was Steve.

"Thanks," the inventor replied turning back toward the table, "but it was supposed to be a tight beam." He grunted as he began to loosen the hand's screws. "I'm still working on that."

He looked up briefly. "Welcome back, by the way."

Steve nodded. "Yeah, it's nice to be back."

The captain fell silent, and Tony turned back towards the table, intent on taking the Iron Man hand off.

He gasped in surprise as he suddenly felt arms wrap around his body.

"What else are you working on?" he heard Steve mumble into his ear, feeling the captain nuzzle it with his nose. "The team's said you've been down here all week."

The genius tried to break out of his boyfriend's grip, a bit surprised at his briskness. After all, the captain had only just come down. Usually Steve was very slow at getting this far, and Tony was the one who liked to jump right in and get down to business. Not that he didn't like what Steve was doing. It was a little chilly down here, and the captain was warm.

Tony, nevertheless, tried to answer the question. "I'm, uh, I'm working on a new repulsor for my, um," Steve was trailing kisses down his neck line, and it was very distracting. "For my Iron Man suit, so that I can- I can…" he trailed off as he enjoyed the ministrations. He always had a weakness for Steve's cajoling.

"So you can what?" The captain asked teasingly. "What do you want to do, Tony?"

The genius smiled, knowing what the other man was really asking. He relaxed in Steve's arms, comforted by the strong grip that the captain held him by.

Tony suddenly stiffened. He remembered Steve touching him in his dream, how Steve had looked so broken. How Steve had been dead because of him. He tried to break out of Steve's grip again. "Look Cap, I got work I need to do, and I don't have time for-"

He was cut off as Steve suddenly spun him around. There was a split second when brown eyes met blue, and then it was gone as the two lips met, electricity crackling between them. He melted against the captain, who slipped his hands up Tony's back, pushing him closer to his body. Tony in turn brought his arms around Steve's neck, deepening the kiss.

Tony didn't want it to end, but suddenly it was over. Steve broke his lips away, but his grip on Tony didn't lessen. "Why are you hiding, Tony?" Steve asked his lover quietly.

The inventor bristled. "I'm not hiding! I'm just…working. For a really long time." He tried to look indignant. "Important Shield stuff. Extremely important."

The other man snorted his disbelief. "C'mon Tony, you haven't eaten anything for the last week! You need to do something other than work."

"I haven't been very hungry," he replied. A second later his stomach growled. "Traitor," he mumbled at his stomach.

"More like you don't want to face anyone." Steve told him, chiding the inventor like he was Tony's mom. "Well if you won't eat anything, then we're going to bed. You need to rest."

Tony shook his head, almost stomping his foot. "No! I got stuff I need to do. Plus, I'm not even tired!" He glared at the captain, and then yawned a humongous yawn. He grinned at Steve sheepishly through drooping eyes, and lied against Steve sleepily.

Steve just smiled, and began to slowly rock back and forth on his feet, lulling Tony to sleep. The genius tried to fight it for a bit longer, but gave up in the end. He hated to admit it, but he really was tired, and he knew that Steve was safe. He wouldn't be in danger when Captain America was around. He slowly drifted off

Tony's breathing gradually slowed, telling Steve that the other man was asleep.

He stooped down, catching Tony's legs, and lifted the sleeping inventor up, carrying him bridal style. Turning around, he made his way over to the door. Before he left, he turned around one last time. "Jarvis?" he asked quietly.

" _Yes, Captain Rodgers?"_ The AI answered, making sure to keep his volume down.

"Put a hold on all the projects Tony was working on and shut everything down." Steve looked at the sleeping Tony's face, silently marveling the peace it held rather than the usual tiredness and stress. "I think Tony's done for the day."

" _Of course, Captain Rodgers. Good night, sir. And Captain Rodgers,"_ JARVIS paused. _"Thank you."_

Steve smiled as he went up the stairs. "You're welcome Jarvis. Good night to you, too." As Steve made his way up the stairs, he could see the lights turning off behind him. He was happy to notice that all of the Avengers were gone from the Commons Room as he had asked. He hadn't wanted any distractions if he had not been able to lull Tony to sleep.

He smiled as he made his way to his and Tony's room. All had gone as planned.

 **҉**

 _He searched everywhere, trying to find him._ _He could see the rest of the Avengers, but where was Steve? He felt a tug on his leg and looked down to see his beautiful captain lying there on the ground, with blood covering his entire body._

"Tony."

" _You could have saved us, you could have saved me_ _." The captain hoarsely said. "You could have done more_ _. We're all dead, because of you! Because you didn't try!"_

"Tony, it's just a dream! Wake up!"

 _He tried to back away, but he couldn't move. His feet were glued to the ground. Steve was getting up and was coming closer and closer and he was trying to scream-_

"TONY!"

"NO!" Tony lurched forward. Someone was grabbing him, and he tried to fight the hands, his mind still in the dream. He stopped fighting when he realized it was Steve.

The captain looked worried. As Tony wiped the traitorous tears from his eyes, glanced at the clock, wincing slightly at the time.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, hands still placed assuringly on his shoulder.

He sighed and tried to smile. "Yeah, I'm just peachy." He paused and looked at Steve. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

"No, it's fine," the captain assured him. "I was reading in the living room when Jarvis told me you were having 'night terrors.'" He shrugged. "I was going to come in soon anyway."

Tony nodded his thanks, silently grateful of Steve's lack of questions towards his nightmare.

The captain looked at him, his face serious. "Tell me what happened, Tony, in your dream."

The inventor tried to look flippant. "Oh, it wasn't anything bad. It was just …" He stopped, tears welling in his eyes. He put his head in his hands.

"That 'not anything' dream has made you hide in your workplace for a week, without any sleep and barely any food. You need to tell me what's happening in that dream, or," he paused, "or it's a nightmare, isn't it?"

His head lifted and he looked into Steve's blue eyes. The other man noticed the haunted look in them. The inventor took a deep breath, and spilled.

Steve was a good listener. He didn't interrupt him at all and when Tony faltered, he nodded to encourage him to go on.

"And then I wake up." Tony was leaning against Steve's chest. He shivered. "Every time I try to sleep I dream that same thing. That's why I never want to go to sleep. I scared of it." He laughed softly, but his laugh had no mirth to it. "It's kind of pathetic, isn't it? A grown man, afraid of dreams." He didn't mention the haunting voice of his father telling him that _Stark men are made of iron_ and _you're weak if you fear your dreams_.

Steve shook his head. "It's not pathetic, Tony," he stated firmly. "I've been frightened by dreams before. You just have to remember that it's just a dream, and that it will never come true, no matter," he paused, smiling, "No matter what Cinderella might say." Tony smiled slightly, trying not to laugh at Steve's slightly proud look in his reference.

A few seconds later, Steve started to stroke Tony's hair, because he knew it calmed them both down. After a few minutes, when the inventor was a lot calmer, Steve decided it was time to ask the one question that was on his mind. "You know that it wouldn't be your fault, right?"

Tony started, jerking Steve from his steady stroking. He turned around and glared at the captain. "It would be my fault. I'm always messing up, and who knows the day that I'll mess up badly and then you'll all be-" Tony swallowed "-dead, because of me. Because I didn't do enough."

Steve felt his heart nearly break at the expression on Tony's face, so he decided it was time to take drastic measures.

Mainly, to slap him.

"Hey!" Tony said, face changing from guilty to hurt as his hand went up to rub the red mark on his face. "What was that for?"

Steve glared at him. "For feeling sorry for yourself. You know that if we all die in battle, it will never, EVER, be your fault."

The other man was a bit surprised that he was frustrated at Steve. "But I make the most mistakes! I'm the one who calls the shots out there! What if I make a mistake?"

"We're Earth's Mightiest Heroes, and we're the best that Earth has. We fight as a team, and if we fail, well, we fail as a team, then." Steve paused for a moment, as if he were searching for the right words. "If anyone's the leader of the Avengers, it's me. And I know that as a leader, you do the very best you can, and your teammates do the very best they can. Sometimes it's not good enough, but in those times we still do what we can. It's part of being in a team. It would NEVER be anyone's fault if one of the Avengers died. They would have died for a good cause, and their death would not be in vain." He looked into Tony's eyes. "And you know all of that; you're just too stubborn and scared to admit it."

Tony opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he realized that Steve was right.

Slowly he nodded, making Steve smile faintly in relief. "Good," was all the captain said.

The captain reached his hands out again, so Tony sighed with a pained sigh that Steve blatantly ignored as the inventor lied against his chest again. They just sat there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, soldier still steadily stroking the silent inventor, before Steve broke the silence speaking quietly, so he wouldn't startle Tony. "Do you want to go back to bed now?"

The other man didn't answer, and when Steve looked down, he saw that the inventor's eyes were closed. Smiling and shaking his head slightly, Steve picked him up and set him back on the bed. He made to get up, but Tony's snapped open as he reached out and snagged Steve's arm, startling him. "Can you stay, Steve? Please? Just for a bit longer?"

The captain hesitated, but when he saw the needy look in Tony's eyes, he relented. He knew that Tony loved physical contact, having learned that in sparring, and he could see that tonight he needed it especially.

He nodded and got back onto the bed. Stripping off his shirt, he lied down next to the already shirtless Tony. Pulling the inventor closer, he put a protective arm around him, his face lit up slightly by the blue glow of Tony's arc reactor. Tony smiled happily, lying against Steve's chest. Both of them began to fall asleep.

"Thanks, Steve." Tony mumbled sleepily.

Steve smiled. "No problem, Tony. No problem at all."

Fin

 **A/N: Okay, so that's it! Sorry if the story was a bit short or long. I always have really good ideas for the one part, but the fillers (stuff in-between) are the hardest part for me. I either make them too long or too short.**

 **Anyway, please leave me a comment about what you think. Thanks again for reading!**


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